


Angels Of Death

by Traw



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Hurt Danny "Danno" Williams, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-01
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2017-10-31 22:51:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/349216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traw/pseuds/Traw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While testifying against a Hawaiian drug lord, Detective Danny Williams collapses. Why is the CIA so interested in the case and what happened to Danny's body? Could he still be alive? Steve McGarrett and the team search for answers but what will they find?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Detective Williams, can you please tell the court in your own words about the arrest of Mr. Howard?" The District attorney asked as he studied the Five-O detective currently on the stand. The blond haired detective seemed pale and swayed unsteadily on his feet. The D.A shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny of the court as he waited for Danny to continue with his vital testimony, and released his anxiously held breath when Danny finally began to answer the question.

"We...we were tipped off that...that," Danny stumbled over his words as he seemed to tighten his grip on the stand, he paused to blink a few times before attempting to continue, "We were ...tipped..."

Stepping forward, prosecutor frowned as he quietly inquired, "Are you alright Detective Williams? Do you need to take a break?"

Steve McGarrett leaned forward in his chair as he studied the face of his partner. Danny had been unusually quiet before he had got on the stand but NAVY Seal had just put it down to over tiredness - the caseloads of Hawaii Five-0 had been particularly heavy in the last few days with the team working twenty hour days. Steve wondered if he had missed something more seriously wrong with his lover other than exhaustion as he studied Danny’s pale and damp face. Growing more alarmed as Danny began to stutter over his words, the dark haired lead detective cast a sideward glance of concern at Chin beside him. Seeing the same level of concern mirrored Chin’s eyes, Steve began to rise, intent on moving towards the obviously ill man on the stand.

"Detective Williams, are you feeling all right?"

The D.A's voice cut through the roaring in his ears. Danny blinked and slowly looked towards him unable to get his eyes to focus on the wavering figure in front of him. 

"Dizzy!" He murmured softly before his legs suddenly gave way and he began to pitch forward.

Steve rushed forward, closely followed by Chin as the witness's eyes appeared to roll back in his head and the Five-0 detective collapsed silently into a shocked Prosecutor's arms, causing them to both sink to the floor.

The District Attorney carefully placed the man in his arms onto the floor and began to loosen the tie and undo the top three buttons of Dan's damp shirt. He called the detective’s name softly in an attempt to rouse him from the faint, ignoring the excited and confused voices from the gallery as both spectators and media whom had gathered to witness the trial who now witnessed the unexpected collapse of the detective. His heart began to beat painfully in his own chest as he realized Williams was no longer breathing and he was unable to detect a heartbeat. He looked up relieved as both Steve and Chin pushed through the crowd of onlookers and knelt down beside him, taking instant control of the situation.

Chin only took a moment to assess his friend’s condition. "He's not breathing, Steve and there's no pulse." He murmured as he quickly situated himself to Danny's side, watching as McGarrett swiftly moved to tilt Dan's head back as they began the desperate attempt to resuscitate their friend. Both men were barely aware of the shouts for an ambulance as they began to administer CPR.

"Come on Danny! Fight! Damn it! Fight!" McGarrett whispered between breaths, “Don’t you dare leave Gracie… Don’t you think of leaving me… do you hear me, Williams! Not now…” 

“Excuse me. Allow me through.” A strange voice ordered as a gray haired man hurried to the front of the courtroom and knelt down beside Chin. “I’m a doctor.” He announced tersely as he quickly checked the motionless man on the floor before taking over the chest compressions from Chin, “And was attending another trial when told of the detective’s collapse. How long has he stopped breathing?”

Glancing down at his boss, Chin swallowed hard as he looked back at the doctor, “It’s been about seven minutes. We were unable to find a pulse either…”

“Where’s the damn ambulance!” Steve demanded as he anxiously rubbed his hair and glanced towards the door before returning his attention to the man on the floor.

“It’s been held up in traffic." The court clerk answered quietly, “They said it could be another five to ten minutes before they can get here.”

The doctor sighed and shook his head slowly after he carried out several more chest compression cycles, aware of how much precious time had passed as he felt for a pulse. Sitting back onto his heels, he stopped as he looked across the limp body on the floor to the man on the other side before he announced softly. "I'm sorry, he’s gone. There is nothing more I can do!"

The doc's soft words burned deeply into McGarrett’s soul. "No!" The choked whispered slipped from McGarrett's lips as he stared at the physician before looking back down at Danny. He wanted to yell at the doctor that there had been a horribly tragic mistake. Danno couldn't die! Not now! He would not allow it! He desperately felt for a pulse but as hard as he palpated the side of Danno's neck, he could not find the soft reassuring beat that proved this was just a mistake. He was aware of both The doc's and Chin's worried eyes watching him silently as he shook his head and began to lean back down, determined to continue the resuscitation.

"Enough Steve, Danny's gone! There is nothing more we can do!" Chin commanded firmly, gently pushing Steve away as the sounds of the ambulance stretcher rattled on the tiled floor as the two attendants pushed roughly past McGarrett. Steve remained crouched, unable to draw his eyes away from the motionless body of his closest friend and lover as the doctor sadly shook his head silently and indicated to the attendants that there was no need to rush

"Come on Steve. There's nothing more we can do. Let the doc take care of Danny!" Chin whispered softly as he gently but firmly pulled McGarrett to his feet and maneuvered the shocked man away, trying to block any sight that McGarrett may get of the physician nodding at the two attendants waiting silently with a stretcher. He was vaguely aware of Danny being lifted from the floor and a white sheet was draped over his body before the stretcher was wheeled away. He tried to ignore his own heart shattering; there would be time enough later for his own grief. Now he had to focus on getting Steve away. The courtroom erupted in turmoil as the media began to push forward, demanding for a comment on the sudden, unexpected death of McGarrett’s detective.


	2. Unexpected happenings

Mahalo to my fantastic beta- Jenthetrulysly. 

xxxxxx

Steve McGarrett sat motionlessly at Danny’s desk, one hand resting on the small photo of a smiling Danny and Gracie that was usually kept in the top drawer of his partner’s desk in easy reach. At the sight of that familiar smiling face he had to blink back the tears that threatened to fall as his grief threatened to swallow him up, all thoughts of the phone call he had to make to Rachel momentarily forgotten as a memories of his lover washed over him like a tidal wave but instead of being a source of comfort, they plunged him deeper into the depths of despair. 

The office suddenly felt too small and he struggled to draw a breath of air. Pushing the photo away, he knocked it to the floor as he pushed himself forcibly from the chair and away from the desk in a claustrophobic dash from the small glass encased office into the anteroom. Leaning against the computer table, he barely stopped the tears from falling as he whispered in the deathly silence, "Oh god, I'm sorry Danny; I should have realized something was seriously wrong. You were too quiet this morning before you took the stand. Why the hell didn't you tell me you weren’t feeling well? Dammit, Danno, what the Hell happened?"

The soft swoosh of the door opening halted the self recriminations before he quickly moved to wipe the tears, cleared his throat and turned towards the door as Chin entered the office. Thankfully, his hand was dry as he brought it away from his face. The detective had made some excuse about needing to get a report from the lab after they had returned from Rachel’s residence at Kahala but Steve suspected that Chin just wanted to give him some time to grieve alone. McGarrett could see the same heartbroken grief that mirrored his own on the face of his friend. "I'm just about to ring Max for his report.” He said quietly, hoping that Chin did not notice the hitch in his voice as he forced the words out.  
Chin nodded as he slowly walked across the room to join Steve at the table. He stood for a moment studying the Navy SEAL, noting how in the last short hour Steve appeared to have aged at least ten years. His eyes were red-rimmed and he had the same horribly gutted expression as the one when Five-0 dealt with the most heinous of cases plastered on his face. Despite his attempts to convince his friend to go home rather than return to the office after leaving the courthouse, his arguments had been in vain. McGarrett had insisted on being the one to gently break the heartbreaking news of Danny’s death to Rachel. Chin had felt grateful that Grace was at school and that Steve did not have to deal with breaking Gracie’s heart by having to tell her that her ‘Danno’ had died. They remained with Rachel until Stan had arrived home before returning to the office to wait for the coroner's report. 

The thought of the coroner's report painfully reminded Chin of the phone call he had received and he swallowed hard, aware that the new shocking information he had for the Lt. Commander was going to tear the already distraught man apart. "I'm afraid I have some disturbing news Steve." Chin began quietly, trying desperately to find the right words to say what he knew he had to say.

"Is it about Danny?" Steve asked softly as he saw the distress in Chin's eyes.

The Korean Investigator nodded, "Bergman just rung. Danny's body never made it to the morgue. He checked with the hospitals, they never received Danny's body either."  
McGarrett stared at Chin in shock. "What are you saying?"

Chin looked away and cleared his throat as he struggled not to lose his composure. Taking a few breaths to steady himself, he continued. "Danny's body is missing. Nobody knows where it was taken."

"What about the damn ambulance attendants - surely they can tell us where it is!" Steve growled as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket.

"I checked," Chin shook his head in anger as he finished his heart wrenching report. "The ambulance company denies receiving a call to the courthouse, let alone transporting Danny's body. They did mention the fact that they had reported an ambulance being stolen two days ago. HPD has just confirmed the report."

The Navy SEAL froze as he turned his attention fully onto Chin, "A stolen ambulance? Are you saying that someone had Danny's death planned?" Chin shrugged uncomfortably under McGarrett's piercing stare as he latched onto this piece of information, much like the way a person latched onto a life raft at sea. "So maybe this was a set up. But why take the body? ... To hide the evidence of how Danny was killed? ... Or maybe to hide the fact that Danny might not be dead?"

Chin stared at his boss, uncertain if Steve was aware that he was clutching at straws with such a wild theory, "Brah, the doc was there; he pronounced Danny's death in the court room! You can't really think…"

Swinging around, McGarrett glared at his man, "At the moment I don't know what the hell to think, Chin!" He growled, "So far all we have is Danny dying suddenly while on the stand - we don't know if the cause of death was natural, which I doubt, or murder to stop him testifying. His body is missing and we have reports that the ambulance attendants and the ambulance were not legitimate. Someone obviously has gone to a lot of effort to stop us from finding out what happen to Danny in that courtroom today and I want to know why! I want to know if there's even a remote possibility that the doctor could have been wrong when he pronounced Danny's death! I want you to get with a sketch artist, do a composite drawing of the two ambulance attendants and when you finish; I want the drawings released with an APB. Tell HPD I want the ambulance found - top priority."  
Chin nodded as Steve continued to fire orders at him.

"Also get Kono to check with the prison. I want a full list of anyone and I mean anyone that Howard has had contact with since his arrest and full backgrounds on each, even his lawyers. I want the book on them, what they spoke to Howard about, what relationship they have with the slug, their movements since Howard’s arrest and most importantly if they have had any contact with Danny at all! I'm going to talk to Max. I want to know if it's possible to make someone appear to collapse and die." Steve announced before he headed out of the office with Chin close behind.

"Steve, you don't really think there's a possibility that Danny could still be alive?" Chin asked softly.

Steve stopped his egress and turned back to Chin. The look of hope in his eyes tugged at the other man's heart, "If there is a possibility, then I want to know. If there is even the slightest chance that Danny's alive..." 

Leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken, McGarrett turned and hurried out of the office.

xxxx

“Damn it! What the hell happened? He’s supposed to be conscious and alert, not lying in this damn bed with a freaking machine breathing for him! What the hell went wrong?” 

The angry growl from the grey haired man standing at the foot of the bed caused the young doctor to jump as he quickly switched off the small penlight that he had been using to check the patient’s pupil responses. Turning around to face the impatient agent, he sighed as he began to defend himself again. “I tried to warn you that the drug was still experimental and might not work the way you wanted but you insisted on using it anyway.” He hissed through clenched teeth as he shouldered his way between the older man and the bed, reaching for the end of the patient’s bed. The doctor grabbed the chart resting there before beginning his reprimand. “And then your boys decided that they were the medical experts when they ignored my instructions and added more of the drug to his drink. So don’t even think of blaming me for this mess! You’re lucky that he is even alive!” 

The older man bristled at the all too accurate accusation. “I don’t give a fig about whose fault this is - that’s up to Washington to decide but I want him awake and off that goddamn machine!” 

The younger man laughed and shook his head in utter disbelief that the agent honestly thought that bringing the detective out of such a deep state of unconsciousness was as easy as shaking him awake. He turned and looked the older man in the eyes as he pointed towards the blond haired man who was lying motionless, connected to a myriad of tubes and medical equipment on the bed. “What do you want me to do? Click my fingers and poof - he’s awake?” 

“I don’t care what you have to do to make him wake up!” The agent snarled menacingly as he grabbed the doctor by his white coat and pulled him offensively close. “I don’t care whether you have to use torture or another untried drug. In fact I don’t even care if you have to turn him into a vegetable to do it as long as his eyes are open and he hasn’t got that damn tube in his mouth breathing for him.” Releasing the doctor’s jacket, the agent pushed him away as he turned away from the bed and stalked towards the door of the impromptu ICU room. “Just do it!” He ordered without a backward glance as he pulled the door open and stormed out. 

Sighing, the young doctor turned back towards his patient, and watched the small irregular green blips that flickered too slowly across the screen of the heart monitor beside the bed. He bit his lip and shook his head before reaching into his pocket to withdraw a small vial of clear liquid. Reluctantly he reached for the unused syringe in the kidney tray and removed the sterile cap over the needle before carefully filling the needle with the correct dosage of the drug. 

Walking around to the side of the bed he reached for the patient’s arm and carefully slid the needle into the IV line. “I don’t know what you were going to testify in court about but whatever it was; you sure investigated the wrong man.” He whispered to the comatose man as he slowly depressed the plunger. “They know that Howard is terrified of what will happen if he ever goes to prison because they can dangle you over his head as a threat!” He murmured as he withdrew the needle and wiped the small portal clean. “And that’s bad news for you, my friend. After Howard sees that you are still alive and believes their threats - you lose your usefulness. The world already believes you’re dead!” He sighed again as he turned away, “God, how the Hell did I even get into this mess?” he muttered.

xxxxx


	3. Hidden Secrets

"Are there any types of drugs that can mimic the signs of death?" The question was intriguing and spoke volumes of the Lieutenant Commander's desperation. The Medical Examiner repeated the question almost as if speaking to himself as he considered the implications. "Can a drug simulate death?"

McGarrett nodded impatiently. "One that could fool an expert, like yourself, into thinking that the patient has died," he pressed.

"Hmmm, there are several different drugs that fall into this category but most of them are experimental and nearly impossible to got hold of." Max Bergman answered slowly. "If you are thinking what I think you are, I'm afraid that you are clutching at straws. If  Detective Williams was slipped one of these drugs then he would require immediate medical attention after he collapsed to survive, such as that in intensive care at a hospital. And he has not been admitted to any Intensive Care unit on the island – I have already checked all the hospitals when his body never arrived here."

"But there are drugs that could fool a doctor performing CPR, like tetrodotoxin," Steve pushed. "And if Danny received the correct medical care quickly enough, he could still be alive?"

"Tetrodotoxin." Max mused, "It's possible but very unlikely. Tetrodotoxin paralyses the muscles in the body including the diaphragm, making it impossible for the victim to breathe. The victim slowly suffocates to death. A very painful death."

"But used in a smaller dose and mixed with other drugs similar to the Haitian zombie powder…" McGarrett suggested hopefully.

"It would work on the nervous system, slowing down a patient's heart rate and respiration so that it's almost nonexistent - very similar to placing the victim into a state of suspended animation. But the risks of brain damage and death are extremely high. The difference of dosage between this state and overdose is extremely minute. It's possible that the CPR performed in the courthouse was enough to extend the period of time before intensive medical intervention was needed  but that means Detective Williams would have needed to have been ventilated immediately after being taken from the courtroom and that requires having access to a hospital and a doctor."

McGarrett's brow furrowed as the theory began to solidify in his mind before he pressed harder, seeking the answers that he needed to hear, "But if someone did have access to these drugs Max, where would they obtain them?"

"I've heard rumors that the government is carrying out clandestine experiments using a combination of drugs that can propagate a state of suspended animation but so far all the experiments have failed. Whispers about the experiments claim that animals used in the tests died or sustained so much brain damage that they had to be euthanatized afterwards." The black haired man shrugged.

McGarrett paused and turned, staring at the man watching him, "If anyone would know, it would be Anderson!"

"You are right Commander, there are drugs out there that can simulate death but they are just experimental! The doctor in the courthouse examined Detective Willaims after he collapsed and gave him CPR. He pronounced him dead at the scene." Sighing, Max lowered his voice and stood up, moving to grab at the Navy SEAL's shoulder but thought better of it. Instead, he made an aborted twitchy flex of his fingers. "Even if you are right and if Detective Williams was slipped something, he wouldn't have survived without medical care." He sighed as he placed his hand uncertainly on McGarrett's shoulder as he continued softly, "I'm sorry Steve, I don't know what has happened to Danny's body but it _is_ Danny's body HPD are searching for. I don't believe that Danny is out there somewhere alive."

XXXX

Hanging up the phone, Matthew Anderson ran a hand through his short close cropped brown hair and groaned. He had dealt with the Navy SEAL who had been placed as the leader of the newly formed task force Hawaii Five-0 and the three members of the team whom McGarrett had handpicked to assist him several times since the formation of the task force. Given full immunity and means by Governor Jameson when the task force had first formed, the team gone on to investigate some of the more 'sensitive' cases with the tenacity of a bulldog. The lead CIA agent was acutely aware that they were willing to bend a few laws to get the job done and were willing to step on quite a few toes to do so, even if those toes included the CIA all with the implicit blessing of the Governor.

McGarrett's desperate phone call had been disturbing. Williams had collapsed and died while testifying against Howard, a Hawaiian scientist caught manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs. The Lt Commander suspected that the illegal drugs were not the only things the scientist was involved in.

The CIA agent listened as McGarrett quickly explained how Danny Williams had been involved in a Five 0 undercover operation involving drugs who had been surprised to witness the scientist conducting some very strange experiments on rats. Following the arrest and subsequent search no evidence of these experiments had been found. McGarrett believed that someone had moved in and 'sanitized' the scene, leaving no evidence behind. The only charges that Five 0 had been able to bring against him were the manufacture and supply of illicit drugs.

Williams' body had disappeared enroute to the morgue and armed with the information Williams had been able to tell him about the strange experiments, McGarrett was grasping at straws. He was desperate to find his man alive and was reduced to asking some very curly questions about the possibility of covert CIA experiments and neurotoxins that could mimic death.

The subject was far too sensitive to discuss over the phone. Matthew quickly assured the desperate Navy SEAL that he would come to Hawaii to answer these questions personally, fully knowing that he needed to convince McGarrett that neurotoxins were not involved. The CIA could not afford the civilian taskforce snooping around. Anderson needed to get to Hawaii fast before McGarrett had a chance to dig too deep in his search for his missing man. Pressing the intercom button on his desk, he waited a moment for his secretary to answer before he demanded to be booked on the next available flight to Honolulu.

Satisfied his order would be carried out immediately he swore under his breath, cursing the agent he now had to deal with. Donahue was a man with his own agenda and the agent didn't mind stepping on toes or flouting hierarchy or protocol if he thought it would speed up his rise in the organization. Anderson wouldn't put it past the sometimes rogue agent to use all means necessary to ensure the scientist's silence and co–operation by pulling a stunt like this. With another harshly muttered curse, Anderson reached for the phone and hastily dialed the familiar number to the Honolulu office with the sole intention of finding out how big a hornet's nest he was about to step in.

XXXX

Stepping off the plane, Anderson was met by a fresh faced, eager new agent who quickly grabbed the small overnight bag in his hand. The younger man explained that Agent Donahue had been unexpectedly detained at the safe house but was waiting the lead agent's arrival. Anderson nodded his head in terse silence as he followed the agent through the terminal out to where the car was waiting. He decided that he needed to get the full details of exactly what happened from Donahue _before_ he walked into the lion's den at the Palace.

XXXX

Matthew Anderson stared at the agent in disbelief, his rising anger evident on his face as he listened to the man's report in silence.

"Howard was petrified of going to jail and he knew Williams' testimony would bury him for a very long time. He threatened to spill his guts on the stand about the operation, our involvement – everything. We knew that if we could prevent that from happening and hold the threat of Williams over his head, we would be able to convince him to remain silent and continue with the experiments."

"So you decided to ensure Howard's loyalty and co-operation your own way by using an experimental drug without permission to fake Williams' death in a crowded courtroom and then kidnap a Five-0 detective to use as leverage!" Anderson soft tone belied the heat of his words as he leaned closer, his hands curling into fists. Things were bad enough already but Donahue had gone off and picked Williams, McGarrett's partner. Despite the short time since the inception of Five-0 to the present, word of the dynamic task force had spread to the hallowed halls within the Pentagon. "What the hell were you planning to do with Williams after you got Howard's co-operation?"

The agent shifted in discomfort under the senior agent's furious glare, "Williams is a nobody. After he serves his usefulness and the excitement dies down about his 'death' and the misplacement of his body, we can quietly dispose of him. No one needs to be any wiser. It's not like we have never down it before!"

"You think McGarrett's just going to let this drop, don't you?" The senior agent growled as he glared at the agent sitting opposite him. "He already suspects that Williams is alive and is asking questions about his disappearance. It's not going to take too long before he suspects that we might have something to do with it."

"So what if he does?" Donahue sneered. "There's nothing he can do about it! We both know this falls under national security."

The strength of the fingers that suddenly encircled his throat surprised and scared the older agent and he sat perfectly still, not wanting to agitate the angry lead agent anymore than he had already done.

"McGarrett isn't going to give a damn about national security!" Anderson hissed softly into the man's ear. "You wanting to be a cowboy has jeopardized everything! McGarrett's not going to give up until he has found his man. He's already tearing the island apart in an attempt to find out where Williams is and who is responsible. Who do you think rang me in Washington? The Tooth Fairy? He's not going to let this drop and when he does find out who took Williams…." Anderson fell silent, as he forced himself to release the agent.

"I was just trying to clean up after Howard got caught being greedy." Donahue croaked as he rubbed his sore throat, "We didn't even know that he was selling drugs until he got caught. It was only then that we discovered Williams had been undercover and Howard had shown him some of his experiments. We managed to sterilize his lab immediately after his arrest. By the time Five-0 got there it was completely clean. The only proof they had about the experiments was what Williams had seen." Donahue shook his head as he continued. "He knew with Williams out of the picture the cops have no real case against him. It was Williams' testimony that the case rested on; the rest of the evidence is purely circumstantial. The other witnesses have all agreed that they have memory problems. Howard threatened to tell all if Williams testified, so we had no choice but to silence Williams on the stand. I thought you would be pleased that I had ensured Howard's continued co-operation."

"And where is Howard now?" Anderson demanded.

"They had no choice but to let him walk after Williams' collapse. The case was dismissed because of insufficient evidence." Donahue smiled proudly, "He is here so we can keep an eye on him and ensure he continues his experiments."

"And Williams?"

Donahue's smile faded as he looked up at Anderson, "He's here too, but we have a little problem…" he began but his explanation was silenced as an alarm shrieked from the next room.

XXXX

The doctor frowned as he watched the heart monitor, noting no significant change in the irregular green beeps that moved too slowly across the screen.

"Damn it!" he swore as he picked up the syringe and drew up more of the drug before injecting it slowly into the IV line. "Come on, work! Work!" he muttered as he turned back to the screen and studied the beeps. A small smile slowly transformed the worried face as the slow beeps gradually began to quicken and the smile increased into a grin as the room suddenly reverberated with the shrill alarm of the ventilator. "That's it, take another," he murmured to the motionless man in the bed as he slapped his hand distractedly against the alarm button to silence the machine.

The alarm suddenly echoed through the small room again as the doctor leaned closer and ordered, "And another one! That's it my friend, and another just to show me you can!" His whispered order was rewarded as the patient attempted to draw another breath, fighting the machine that was breathing for him. Turning again to silence the alarm, he adjusted the ventilator from full ventilation to assisted ventilation to allow the patient to initiate the breaths, and jumped as the small ICU room door slammed open before Donahue and another agent rushed in.

"What the hell is happening now?" Donahue demanded as the other man stopped and stared wide eyed at the patient in the bed.

XXXX

Very few things in the world could shock the lead agent but the sight of the Five-0 detective lying on the bed connected to a ventilator caused the CIA agent to freeze in his tracks. He stared at the sight of the motionless figure of McGarrett's detective, almost mesmerized by the slow and uneven rise and fall of the detective's chest. The doctor turned to stare at them.

"What the hell is happening _now_?" Donahue demanded as he brushed past the lead agent and glared down at the patient.

"I'm just carrying out your orders, _SIR_!" The doctor answered sarcastically, ignoring the man standing at the end of the bed as he turned back towards Williams. He picked up another syringe before carefully drawing up and injecting more drugs into the IV line. Placing the used syringe back into the kidney tray on the bedside table he glanced towards the heart monitor and silently watched the erratic green beeps for a few moments, frowning.

"I asked you a question and I expect an answer!" Donahue growled as he reached for the doctor's arm.

"You wanted him awake and off the ventilator and that's what I am doing!" The doctor hissed as he suddenly spun around, his anger evident on his face. He glared at the two agents waiting for his answer. "As you said, it doesn't matter if he ends up being a vegetable just as long as his eyes are open and the God damn tube is out of his mouth. We all know that once he outlives his usefulness, we will just dispose of him anyway – so why should we care about what damage is done!"

The man's words snapped Anderson out of his shock and he stepped forward as he turned to look menacingly at Donahue, "No one had better be talking about turning this man into a vegetable or even of disposing of him." Returning his attention back to the doctor who was now watching him cautiously, he asked softly, "How is he?"

The young doctor sighed as he rubbed a hand nervously over his hair as he answered succinctly, "Critical."

"But he has a chance?" Anderson pushed impatiently as he looked back at McGarrett's closest friend.

The doctor shrugged uncertainly, "It's very much a case of touch and go at the moment. He's having a hard time trying to shake off the effects of the drugs he was given." Glaring over Anderson's shoulder at the man who watched him threateningly, he added furiously, "It didn't help that they got over eager and overdosed him. I warned them the drug was highly experimental and that they should be careful. Now they want him awake…"

Anderson nodded, his jaw clenched in anger as turned and glared at the agent standing beside him before he returned his attention back to the doctor. "Forget the order about forcing him to regain consciousness. Do your best for him and I want to know immediately if there is any change to his condition."

"Yes Sir." The doctor agreed, smiling triumphantly at the other agent as Anderson turned and strode angrily out of the room.

Watching the lead agent's furious egress, Donahue waited until the door closed before he turned back to the doctor. Taking a step closer, he grabbed the doctor's coat and pulled him offensively close and ordered, "Forget what he said 'cause he's not in charge of this operation, I am! He will be on his way back to Washington in a couple of hours anyway. My orders still stand! I want Williams awake and with that tube out of his mouth by this evening or else you will be facing disciplinary charges."

"But…" The doctor began.

"There's no damn buts about it…you have your orders. I expect you to carry them out or else Williams won't be the only garbage to be disposed of." Donahue threatened softly before he turned on his heels and hurried after the angry CIA lead agent.

XXXX

"You overdosed a Five-O detective with an experimental drug!" Anderson's barely contained fury was undisguised as he glared at the agent, his hands resting on the desk in front of him. "Then you order the doctor to use more experimental drugs to force him back to consciousness! Just what the hell did you think you were doing?"

"My job, Sir!" Donahue answered, uncowered by the lead agent's wrath as he shifted in the hard plastic chair in front of his own office desk, "I thought you would be pleased that I took the initiative. It was you who ordered Howard's co-operation by any means at our disposal! It wasn't my fault that Howard got greedy and started a little illegal lurk on the side that brought him unwanted attention by the local authorities but I was able to use it to our advantage. Howard will be more than willing to co-operate with us now once he sees Williams. He's terrified of prison!"

"And what about the Five-0 investigation into Williams' death and disappearance? This operation was to be covert or did you forget that?" Anderson growled, his hands closing into tight fists.

Donahue smiled, "We both know that you can handle the local boys, Sir, all you have to do is whisper 'National Security' and make the official order of 'Forget Williams ever existed' into McGarrett's ear then the complications of Williams' death and disappearance will go away. In a few days the public will forget about it and move on to the next tasty tidbit in their mundane lives. We will have Howard's co-operation and knowledge, then Williams can be quietly disposed of. The operation will be safe and nobody will be any wiser."

"If you think McGarrett is going to let this go that easily you are seriously mistaken because when it comes to the wellbeing of one of his men, he is like a dog with a bone. He won't give up until he finds out exactly what happened and who is responsible! This operation is too sensitive to have that dog sniffing around! " Anderson warned before he forced himself to calm down. He took a few deep breaths before continuing much more calmly, "I'm going across to Iolani Palace to try and find out just how much your stupid actions have compromised the operation and hopefully throw McGarrett off the scent to little to give us time to work out how to salvage things. While I am gone I expect that Williams will be well cared for. I want him as healthy as he can be until I decide just what we are going to do with him."

"But I thought…"

"I know what you thought but I give the orders!" The agent heatedly reminded Donahue, "Williams is to be left alone until I decide what action we should take. Is that clear?"

"But what about Howard's co-operation?" Donahue stammered, a little less certain of himself.

"There are other methods to 'persuade' Howard to co-operate!" Anderson chastised Donahue gruffly as he rose from his seat and headed towards the door, pausing as he growled over his shoulder, "Methods that would have made him easier to control if you had have used them from the start! Now I expect you to obey my orders until I get back from cleaning up the mess you have created!"

"Yes Sir!" Donahue responded automatically to the now empty doorway before he laughed and added, "At least now we can say that we have carried out the first human experiments of the drugs! That's an added bonus!"


	4. Smoke And mirrors

Mahalo to my awesome beta Jenthetrulysly- you are the best mate!

  
  
McGarrett and the two cousins looked up from the computer that they were studying as the glass doors to the office softly swooshed open, swiftly recognizing the CIA agent who entered. Quickly crossing the room, McGarrett met the agent halfway across the room. “Matt, mahalo for coming,” Steve said as he shook the agent’s proffered hand before adding. “I heard through the coconut wireless that you landed in Honolulu a couple of hours ago.”   
  
“I needed to check in with my agents about some other matters. I also wanted to give them the heads up about Danny’s death and disappearance and have them start investigating it as well. I figured between the two agencies, we should be able to find out more information about what happened.” Anderson explained softly as he followed the Navy SEAL back to the computer table, giving a curt nod to Chin and Kono before he turned back to Steve. “Have there been any developments?”  
  
“No, not yet.” Steve ran a hand over his head in frustration before crossing his arms in front of his chest, “We have comfit photos and APBs out on the two ambulance attendants but it’s like the rock has swallowed them, Danny and the ambulance up.”

 

“You said a doctor at the courthouse had pronounced Williams’ death.”

 

“Doctor Adrian Honalukia. We ran a full background check. He’s clean. He has a practice in Pearl City and was attending as a witness in another court case.”  
  
Anderson nodded as he glanced uncomfortably towards the two cousins.

 

Sensing the lead spy’s sudden reluctance to talk in front of Chin and Kono, Steve tersely reassured the lead agent. “Whatever you have to say to me, Matt, you can say in front of Chin and Kono.”

 

Anderson sighed. He would have preferred to have this conversation privately but he was acutely aware of how close McGarrett’s frustration and temper was to the surface. The last thing he needed was to antagonize the Lt. Commander - for now he needed McGarrett’s and the Five-0 team’s full trust and co-operation if he had any hope of cleaning up the mess Donahue had made. He also knew he had to be very careful with his words. From the rigid edge of tension in the dark haired man’s stance the lead agent could tell that McGarrett’s patience was wearing very thin. The man’s temper when it came to his partner was legendary and he didn’t want to be witness to it first hand. “You asked me about any experimental drugs that we might be testing that could simulate death. I don’t quite understand why you believe it might link us to your case or why you might believe that this is what might explain Danny’s unexpected death and disappearance but whatever your reason, I’m afraid I have some bad news.  I did some checking both here and on the mainland about the possibility of such a drug and if we are carrying out any experiments or if a drug like this does indeed exist in our labs if any has been stolen…”  
  
 “And?” McGarrett asked impatiently.   
  
 “Steve, I’m sorry but you are just way off base. There were experiments with neurotoxins that were carried out on animals about a year ago but the tests were stopped when the drugs proved too unstable. All the animals died within a short time of being injected and the ones that survived the initial injection were later destroyed because of the irreversible brain damage the drugs caused. The experiments were shelved and no human tests were ever carried out. As for the drugs - they were all destroyed.”   
  
“What about the possibility of another country or rogue individuals trying to perfect the drugs?” Steve questioned, “Danny reported that Howard had been carrying out some very bizarre drug experiments but was unable to tell me what they were for. The evidence was missing when we made the initial raid and arrest. All we found was cooking paraphernalia for illegal drugs.”   
  
“Steve, listen to yourself!” Matt ordered sternly, “I know that you are upset that Danny died before your eyes and his body has disappeared but you are clutching at straws! There are no drugs around that can simulate death - it’s impossible! Now the CIA is willing to help you in your searches for Williams’ body and the reason behind his death but you have to accept the fact that no matter what we discover, Danny is dead!” Seeing the pain in the Navy SEAL’s eyes, Matt softened his voice as he added more gently. “I’m sorry Steve, but that is the one fact that we are certain of. Now, let’s start revising this case so we can find out what happened to your man and bring him home where he belongs.”   
  
XXXXX

 

“Oh God, Steve help me!” The words reverberated around and around in his head as Danny Williams again tried to force his body to move, to react, to do something to show that he was alert and conscious, aware of everything happening and being said to him and around him. He was in agony - every nerve fiber felt as if it was on fire, there was no part of his body that didn’t hurt, especially his chest. A hot tear slipped from beneath his closed lashes as his body refused to obey him as he prayed to wake from this nightmare. 

 

The soft racing beeps from the heart monitor and the sudden shrill alarm of the ventilator caught the doctor’s attention and he turned from the doorway and hurried back to his patient. He frowned as he slapped the button on the ventilator, silencing the alarm and studied the small green blips that scurried across the screen of the heart monitor. Slowly he turned and stared at his patient. The single tear that trickled down the side of Williams’ face and the hitching rise and fall of the detective’s chest told him more than any machine ever could. 

 

Grabbing his small flashlight, he carefully lifted one of his patient’s eyelids, shining the light into Danny’s eye, his heart racing as he felt Williams flinch slightly at the procedure before he did the same thing to the other eye. Straightening up to his full height, the doctor hastily placed his knuckle onto the middle of Danny’s chest, rubbing his sternum hard as he watched the young detective for any reaction to the extremely painful test. Danny remained still, showing no obvious physical reaction to the test but the doctor jumped as the ventilator and heart monitor alarms blared.  Quickly turning towards the two machines, he slapped the alarms off as he studied them both for a moment before returning his attention back to his patient. “You are awake, aren’t you?” he whispered softly to the motionless man in the bed as he watched several more tears trickle down the side of Danny’s face. “Can you open your eyes?” 

 

He watched as Danny’s eyelashes fluttered but did not open, biting his bottom lip at the response as he heard the beeps of the heart monitor increase again, signalling his patient’s distress. Placing a hand lightly on Danny’s arm, he whispered reassuringly, “It’s okay, the paralysis you are experiencing is only temporary, it should ease in the next few hours. It’s caused by the drugs that you were given, I promise that it will go away but until it does, we can’t let them know that you’re awake.” He murmured as he turned and reached for a syringe and a vial of medication, swiftly drawing up the drug before he began to inject it into the IV line. “The longer Donahue thinks you are in a coma, the safer you are.” He quietly explained as Danny moaned in fear and protest as his awareness began to drift away, “And the more time I have to figure just how the hell I am going to get us out of this mess.” He added as he carefully removed the needle from the tubing as he watched Danny’s chest rise and fall in the much more even rhythm of sleep.

 

XXXX

 

“You’re lying! I saw Williams die right in front of me in that courtroom yesterday!” 

 

“Think so?” Donahue grinned triumphantly, enjoying seeing the fear on the face of the geeky scientist who stared at him from across the small room. “I can assure you Howard, Williams is very much alive and in just a couple of hours will be able to tell the world everything he saw you doing – unless of course you decide to co-operate with us.”   
  


“No, I don’t believe you! You’re lying Donahue - Williams  _is_  dead- the doctor in the courthouse pronounced his death yesterday. He wouldn’t have done that if Williams was alive.” Howard stumbled over his words, his fear and anxiety rising as he watched the CIA agent’s grin widen as the taller man walked across and grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet and dragging him towards the door.   
  


“Why don’t we just go and see.” Donahue chuckled as he pulled Howard out of the room and dragged him down the corridor towards a closed door at the end, ignoring the smaller man’s attempts to break free. Reaching the door, he swung it open and pushed the scientist into the room, seemingly oblivious to the doctor’s irate glare as he grinned at Howard’s gasp of surprise upon seeing the man in the bed. “See Howard, I was telling the truth!” he whispered into the shaking man’s ear as Howard stared at Williams. “Now co-operate with us and Williams will never tell your secrets but if you decide not to help your country - I guess Williams here will be like Lazarus and astound the world with returning from the dead to testify against you and your ‘evil’ experiments against mankind!”   
  


Howard shook his head as he took a small step backwards but any route of escape was blocked by the agent.” No- no you can’t do that. We both know there would be too many questions if Williams suddenly reappeared.” He whispered as he continued to stare at the detective in the bed. “You will never be able to explain where he was.” 

 

Donahue smiled as he leaned closer to the terrified scientist’s ear, “Why Howard, we won’t need to explain anything - it would be so easy to blame you. After all it is the drugs that you were experimenting with that are in Williams’ system now. Everyone will think that you had Williams drugged and kidnapped to stop him from testifying against you and we both know that Williams will co-operate with whatever his Government tells him to. He’s a cop and it is so easy to order him to…”

 

Swallowing hard, Howard turned and nodded as his tears began to fall. “Okay Donahue,” he whispered, “You win.”   
  


“I always do!” The agent laughed as he pulled the scientist out of the room and into the corridor, before he turned back to the doctor watching them warily from near the door, “Well Doc, I guess I don’t need the cop awake after all.”  He grinned before he turned and hurried from the room.   
  


 

 


	5. Red Alert

Mahalo to my awesome beta- jenthetrulysly- you are simply the best!!! Not only as a beta but a a fantastic friend

XXX

 

Kono frowned as she slowly looked around the scene, noticing several HPD officers who were searching both the road and the surrounding cane field for evidence or the body of their colleague. A small shiver ran down the rookie’s back as she pushed the heartbreaking thought, trying to concentrate on the evidence they had at the moment instead. The ambulance had been spotted by the HPD helicopter and was parked haphazardly across the small dirt road. The back doors were wide open, a second set of tire marks evident near the rear of the abandoned vehicle. 

 

Stepping carefully into the back of the abandoned ambulance, Kono studied the interior, noticing the scattered glass vials and opened remains of packages that were strewn over the floor and the empty space where a stretcher should have been. “What do you think, Charlie?” she asked the young forensic scientist who was dusting for fingerprints. 

 

Charlie Fong looked up at the tall woman who stood frowning in the doorway as she studied the interior of the ambulance. He picked up a small used vial with a pencil to avoid smudging any potential fingerprints before turning it towards the light to read the label. “This is epinephrine and there is a vial of adrenaline.” He nodded towards a second glass vial lying near his feet as he explained, “Both are used in CPR to restart the heart.” Tilting his head towards the shelves beside him, he added, “The defibrillator has also been used and the oxygen is missing. That’s not something they’d do if the patient was dead already.” 

 

Kono nodded slowly as she listened to the scientist before she glanced around to ensure none of the HPD officers were in earshot. “So, is it possible that Steve might be right?” she asked with a glimmer of hope flickering in her heart, “About how Danny might be alive?” 

 

Charlie shrugged, uncomfortable about raising Kono’s hopes regarding the fate of her friend any more than he had to, but nodded as he glanced around at the scattered contents of the ambulance. McGarrett’s wild theory was slowly starting to sound plausible with the evidence left behind. “It’s possible, Kono,” he answered hesitantly. “Especially if they have somewhere already set up as an emergency room.” Displeased with how absurd he sounded, he added more softly, “But I could be wrong.” 

 

Kono nodded in understanding before she stepped out of the ambulance and pulled out her cell phone to call McGarrett with her initial report. She was unable to stop the small smile that tugged at her lips as she whispered to herself. “Yeah, Brah, but you could be right as well.”   
  


XXXX

The young CIA doctor bit his bottom lip as he stared at the door, Donohue’s ominous words echoing in his head.  _“Well, Doc, I guess I don’t need the cop awake after all.”_ Turning quickly he hurried back to the now sleeping man in the bed and reached for the half used vial of the experiential drug that sat on the small bedside table. He swiftly drew up the rest of its contents into a needle. Carefully expelling the small air bubble trapped within the filled syringe, he slid the needle into his patient’s IV line and slowly depressed the plunger, injecting the potent drug into the detective’s system. “I’m afraid we have run out of time. Donahue has gotten what he wanted and as soon as that bigwig from Washington goes, there will be no one to stop him,” he whispered as he withdrew the needle.  He turned back and watched the green blips dancing across the heart monitor as he continued to talk softly, “The drug I just gave you is still highly experimental but it should help reverse some of the effects of the first drugs…I hope…”  The shrill alarm of the ventilator began to echo loudly through the room and he quickly turned the machine off, flicking his eyes toward the door as he did.  
  


Danny was running out of time. The doctor turned back toward his patient and reached for the offending tube in the detective’s mouth. “I don’t think you need this anymore,” he murmured as he carefully removed it from the young man’s throat. Grabbing an oxygen mask, he slipped it over the young detective’s face and adjusted the oxygen flow as he watched Danny’s chest rise and fall on its own. “You should start getting some feeling back soon,” the young physician reassured his sedated patient softly, “As soon as you do, I promise I will try and get you out of here.”  
  


XXXX

 

McGarrett scowled, annoyed with the continuous interruptions as he and Anderson reviewed the scant clues of Danny’s case. Kono and Chin were out on the streets, checking with Five-0’s contacts for any whisper on the coconut wireless about the missing detective. Snatching the ringing cell phone from his pocket, he hit the answer button and snapped, “McGarrett!”  
  


“Steve, it’s Kono, we’ve found the ambulance. It’s been dumped in the Wahiawa National Park, a dirt track just off of Contumacious Terrace.”  
  


Unconsciously the Lt Commander’s hand tightened around the phone as dread bloomed in his stomach. “What about Danny?” He hated how he couldn’t keep the waver of hop from filtering through into his voice.  
  


“No sign of him, Boss,” Kono answered before quickly adding, “But there is evidence that indicates that there may have been an attempt to revive someone in the ambulance. Both the stretcher and oxygen are missing.”  
  


“Good, Kono, good!” Steve grinned as he rose from his seat, ignoring Anderson’s questioning stare as he ordered, “I want the area secured and get Charlie and the lab boys there.”

 

“Already have, Steve,” Kono replied. “Charlie’s taking prints.”

 

Anderson watched the Navy SEAL warily, aware that something big in the case had broken as McGarrett informed his rookie that he was on his way before ending the call.

 

“Something happen?” Anderson asked as he quickly rose from his own seat and followed McGarrett out of the office at a run.

 

“They have found the missing ambulance. No sign of Danny and the stretcher is missing but there is evidence that someone could have been revived in the ambulance,” McGarrett answered as they ran down the internal stairs and out through the ornate palace doors. “Do you want to come?”  
  


The lead CIA agent hesitated as they reached the dark haired man’s truck before he shook his head. “No,” he began, backing away towards his own car, “I have some things I have to attend to but I will check in later for an update, Steve. You have my number if this is a break in the case and not just a wild goose chase.”  
  


McGarrett nodded, slamming the door to the truck closed before Anderson had even taken three steps.  The mere thought that there was evidence that supported his theory meant that there was a very real possibility that his partner was still alive out there, somewhere. As he pulled out onto the main road, Steve swore that he was going to turn over every leaf and leave no stone unturned until Danny was back with him, with his ohana. He never paused to consider just what the lead CIA agent’s business could have been – Danny was far more important to him than any other official business could ever be.   
  


XXXX  
  


Studying the small, now regular blips that danced across the heart monitor, the doctor allowed a small smile of relief to flicker across his tired face. Satisfied that Williams’ heart was no longer in danger of stopping, he switched off the monitor before he turned and removed the small sticky discs that held the monitoring wires to his patient’s chest. It was a small victory - he was aware that not all the dangers had passed for his patient and he was still unsure of what or how severe any damage inflicted on the young detective by the unauthorized and highly unstable drugs would be. Despite this, the doctor was feeling hopeful that Williams was stable enough for him to attempt the risky move of trying to get him out of danger.  
  


He found his hand shaking at the thought of betraying his superiors and exposing the whole sordid series CIA experiments to local law enforcement. It was almost something beyond him, but it had to be done. A small voice screamed in his head that doing so was akin to him signing his own death warrant, especially if Donahue found out what he was planning but another voice reminded him that he had taken an oath to save the lives of his patients, not to assist in their murders.

 

No... In his heart he knew no matter what the consequences might be to him, he was doing the right thing. And maybe…maybe… he could somehow cut a deal…  
  


The doctor nodded, steeling his resolve. He had no other choice. Reaching for a syringe, he injected more drugs into his blonde haired patient, now impatient himself for totally different reasons to quickly force Danny Williams back into consciousness.  
  


He jumped as Donahue’s voice barked from the doorway, “Anderson has ordered that you get into the conference room. Now! We have trouble!”  
  


The doctor quickly finished the injection before he removed the needle from the patient’s IV and spun around to face the intimidating agent. “What sort of trouble?” he asked nervously.  
  


Donahue shrugged as he entered the room and grabbed the doctor’s arm roughly, pulling him from the room as he snarled, “I don’t know, but by the look on the old man’s face, it ain’t good. He said somethin’ about the ambulance and how McGarrett believes his boy is alive.”  
  


Feeling the blood drain from his face at the agent’s annoyed words, the physician glanced reluctantly back at the motionless man on the bed as he remembered the empty vials he had dropped in his rush to restart the detective’s heart. He swallowed hard as he realized that if McGarrett had found these then time for Williams had just run out.  
  


XXXX  
  


The distant sound of angry voices greeted Danny’s return to consciousness. He remained still, struggling to remember where he was. The disturbing memories of being unable to move or speak the last he was awake slammed into his mind like a tsunami.  A wave of sheer terror washed over him and he attempted to force his eyes open.  After several attempts, the bright blurry images of the room were slowly revealed as his eyes finally co-operated with his commands and opened.

 

Drawing a deep breath into his still painful chest, he lifted his head and blinked several times to bring his surroundings into focus. He was rewarded as his vision sharpened, only to waver moments later. The small movement of his head had triggered strong attacks of vertigo and nausea, forcing him to drop his head despondently back against the pillow. He could barely blink away the tears that threatened to fall as he struggled to remember what had happened to him. Each small movement left him feeling exhausted.

 

Slowly the disjointed memories of the courthouse and his illness returned, as well as more disturbing reminders of being unable to move or speak as he heard people discussing his possible fate.

 

Biting his lip, he concentrated on moving his legs and arms and could not stop the cry of relief as his legs and left hand moved weakly under the sheet.  Exhausted by the effort, it took him a few minutes to realize that his right arm had never moved. He lifted his head, swallowing the hot bile that rose instantly to the back of his throat. Gritting his teeth, he tried to focus on the motionless limb and attempted to make it move. His desperate attempts to force movement into his arm and hand were in vain as the arm remained motionless, no matter how much he tried to will it to move.  
  


The angry voices that seemed to come from somewhere afar suddenly increased in both volume and intensity, warning the young detective of the danger he was still in. He knew he had to get out of here.  Ignoring his useless arm, he struggled to sit upright in the bed, before pushing the oxygen mask off his face. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, pausing for several seconds as his world suddenly tilted and lurched sickeningly around him as the vertigo increased tenfold and threatened to topple him. Slowly the dizziness eased and he swallowed hard, forcing the bile that was burning the back of his throat back down. He awkwardly reached across with his left hand and tugged the IV free of his right arm, ignoring the small trickle of blood that began to snake down the back of his hand as he forced himself unsteadily to his feet.

 

He swayed a moment as his legs trembled under his weight before he slowly crossed the room towards the blurry outline of the open door.

 

 


	6. End of The Line

A big Mahalo to my awesome beta-Jenthetrulsly. You are the best

xxxxxx

Irritated at the mess he had been unceremoniously thrown into; Anderson rubbed a hand over his greying hair and began to pace the confines of the small office. His irritation deepened and soon he was struggling to control his rising anger at the latest developments. He knew that with the discovery of the ambulance and all the overwhelming evidence carelessly left behind, there would be no doubt in McGarrett’s mind that his wild theory was right. Williams had indeed been slipped a death-simulating drug and was alive somewhere on the island and the idea was not as wild as everyone had first thought. He also knew that McGarrett was nobody’s fool and would quickly link his detective’s disappearance with the CIA, especially if his insistent digging revealed Howard’s involvement with any of his agents. It was a distinct and disturbing possibility considering the arrogance and carelessness that Donahue had exhibited so far. It was a link that the Agency could not allow Navy SEAL to make at any cost; the project was far too sensitive to be exposed by anyone. 

He sighed again; only too aware of what had to be done. It was an order he did not want to have to give but for the sake of national security he had no other choice. He had to tie up all loose ends and throw McGarrett off the scent.

Unhappy with his decision and acutely aware that he had no other options available, the agent spun around as the door to the office opened with a soft creak and both Donohue and the doctor entered. Anderson waited until they were both seated before he addressed the young doctor first, “I’m sure Donahue has wasted no time in telling you that McGarrett and Five-0 have located the ambulance and the evidence left behind.” He watched as the young doctor swallowed and nodded as he continued, “McGarrett already knows his theory about Williams being alive is now very possible. It won’t take the man much more to realize that this is only possible with our involvement….” He paused to glare at Donahue, “And it’s not going to take him long to connect the Howard case with us.” 

The senior agent was quietly pleased to see the look of arrogance fade from the younger agent’s face as Donahue shifted uneasily in his chair. He began to try and defend himself but it was very weak, “It wouldn’t have been a problem if Howard hadn’t got greedy or decided to show off to Williams.” 

Slamming his fist onto the desk, Anderson noticed Donohue jump as he roared, “If you hadn’t decided to take matters into your own hands and scare Howard into co-operating NONE of this would have happened! McGarrett confirmed that Williams had seen some of the experiments while undercover but Five-0 had no knowledge or understanding of what they were exactly. They could have easily been explained away as the useless experiments of a drug-ridden scientist whose imagination was far greater than his ability. Do you really think anyone would have believed that he was experimenting with suspended animation? Or that he was conducting the clandestine experiments for the government?” 

“I was just trying to -” Donahue interrupted but he was quickly silenced as Anderson rounded the desk to glare down at him. 

“You weren’t trying anything. You saw this as your chance to get ahead and you grabbed it with your greedy hands,” he snarled, “And now I have to fix this damn mess and ensure that the trail never leads back to us. As for you…I will deal with you later!” 

Donahue paled at the threat and swallowed, acutely aware that his career had taken a serious step backwards unless he could redeem himself in Anderson’s eyes.

“What about Williams?” The doctor’s soft, concerned voice startled the younger agent and he glanced towards the physician before returning his attention back to the angry lead agent. 

“I’m afraid Detective Williams died in the courtroom from a fatal overdose slipped to him by one of Howard’s druggie supporters to stop him from testifying against their supplier,” Anderson answered almost regretfully as he turned and headed towards the door. 

“But any autopsy performed will show our drugs in his system and a discrepancy with his time of death,” the doctor argued as he rose from his seat and reluctantly followed Anderson out of the door towards the hospital room where his patient now rested. 

The lead agent paused and looked at the young physician, “I’m afraid by the time the sharks ‘give’ up his remains there won’t be enough to autopsy but just enough to identify him—maybe a couple of fingers and toes, even a foot if they are lucky.” 

Anderson heard Donohue’s sadistic little chuckle from somewhere behind him as he opened the door but he ignored it as he looked around the empty room in confusion before he spun around and growled, “He’s gone! Find him! We can’t afford to let him get out of this building at all costs!” 

Xxxx

The sound of angry voices and running footsteps echoed loudly down the long corridor as Danny paused momentarily to squint around him, desperately trying to bring his surroundings into focus and find somewhere to hide. The blurry outline of a door close to his left caught his attention. He stumbled towards it and fumbled with the handle until the door swung open and he lurched inside. Closing the door quickly behind him, he leaned back against the cool wood and closed his eyes. A strong wave of dizziness washed over him, threatening to topple him despite his solid support. He waited until the nauseating sensation of the world spinning out of control around him had subsided enough for him to open his eyes again. 

Swallowing down the hot bile that tickled the back of his throat, he forced himself away from the door and stumbled unsteadily towards the fuzzy outline of a desk just in front of him. He groaned in pain as his thighs hit the hard edge of the desk and brought tears to his eyes. Ignoring the pain, he reached a shaking hand out and searched its surface for the phone that must be there. He smiled weakly as his hand brushed against the familiar object and he pulled it quickly towards him before he struggled to pick up the receiver and tug it under his head and shoulder. The effort was exhausting. He bit his lip in concentration as he carefully felt for the dial with his fingers and followed the small holes until he hoped he had found the correct one. 

“Please…please work,” he whispered to his fingers desperately as he inserted his finger into the small hole and awkwardly dialed the familiar number, holding his breath until he heard a familiar voice say, “Hawaii Five-0, Kelly.” 

“Chin,” He whispered frantically into the phone as he heard the shouted voices in the corridor draw closer, “It’s…Danny, I’m…I’m in...trouble...”

xxxx


	7. Without A Trace

“Danny! Are you alright? Where are you?” Chin was unable to stop the questions from tumbling out as he tucked the phone between his shoulder and head, his fingers quickly tapping the keyboard on the table in front of him as he desperately began a trace.  
  
“I…I don’t know…I think I’m in some kind of an office…” The normally confident and brash ex-Jersey detective sounded scared and confused as his voice wavered. 

“Easy Danny, easy. I have a trace on the line, we are going to find you but I need you to look around and see there’s anything that can tell us where you are.” Chin ordered calmly.   
  
“I…I can’t…no…no time…. They’re…. they’re looking for me. I’ve got to try and get out of here.” 

 Chin felt something in his chest constrict at the escalating panic in Danny’s voice. Silently cursing the computer’s slow trace of the landline Danny was using, he asked urgently. “Who’s looking for you?”

“They’re coming, I… I can hear them.”  Danny continued desperately, “I... I have to go.”  
  
“Who’s coming?”  Chin pushed anxiously as he heard the sounds of shouting in the background before the distinct click of Danno slamming down the phone. He sighed with frustration as he lowered his phone back to the tabletop and stared at the blinking message flashing across the computer screen - Trace failed. Tapping a few keys in desperation, he bit his bottom lip hard as he waited for the computer to respond, almost cheering at the two small words that flashed up on the screen a few short seconds later. It was not the information that he knew the Navy SEAL would want but at least it was a start. Reaching for his cell phone, the Korean detective hit the speed dial and waited for Steve to answer, his eyes never leaving the computer screen or the two words that flashed upon it.

 XXXXX

Stepping out of the back of the ambulance, Steve’s eyes roamed across the crime scene and ordered, “I want the ambulance gone over with a fine tooth comb, Charlie. Every fiber, every hair, every fingerprint are to be checked and rechecked.”   
  
“On it, Steve,” the forensic expert acknowledged as he walked alongside the anxious detective. “We have also taken casts of the tire tracks to be run through the database when I get back to the lab. We might be able to track down where the tires were sold -could give you something to go on. I’ll also give Max a list of the drugs and equipment missing from the ambulance.”   
  
“Thanks, Charlie.”  McGarrett answered distractedly as he continued to look around, studying the scene before him, searching for any missed clue that would lead him to Danno. His right hand curled into a tight fist as his frustration rose. Being a man of action, the lack of any real clues to Danny’s whereabouts was a form of agonizing torture he had never endured before. 

The sound of Chin’s ringtone interrupted his spiralling frustration and he reached into his pocket, pulling the smartphone free before hitting answer, holding it to his ear. The frustration was evident as he snapped. “What have you got for me?’

 XXXXX

Pushing open the door, Donahue stepped into the small office and quickly scanned the room, ignoring the two men who followed him.  
  
“There’s no one here,” the young doctor announced as he glanced around at the undisturbed table and chair in the center of the room. The filing cabinets that lined the wall were still closed. There were no signs that anyone had been in the room.  
  
“I heard someone in here!” Donahue growled angrily as he stepped around the desk and ducked to look beneath it. There had definitely been the sound of something slamming and he glanced at the telephone, which sat innocently in its cradle. Someone had been here, he just _knew_ it!  
  
“Well, there’s no one here now!” The doctor insisted more vehemently as he watched the agent rise and move towards the open door. He could only watch as Donahue pushed it closed to expose the faded white wall behind it.   
  
“I told you I heard someone moving around in here!” Donahue muttered fiercely as he roughly shouldered past the younger man. The doctor could only look on in faint amusement as the agent walked towards the sealed window and was about to pull the full-length dark curtains apart-   
  
“Oh, Lord, are you really that insane?” The doctor laughed, shaking his head in utter disbelief at the agent’s actions, “Do you really think Williams is hiding behind the curtains?”   
  
“The doctor’s right. There’s no one in this room!” Anderson ground out in annoyance as he grabbed his agent’s arm and pulled him harshly out the door. He shoved his subordinate down the corridor towards the front door, “And we don’t have time for you to play Master Spy! Williams has probably gotten out of the building. We need to find him before he gets too far. The last thing we can afford is him contacting McGarrett!”   
  
XXXXX  
  
Releasing his breath in relief, Danny waited a few moments until the footsteps and angry voices faded away before stepping out from behind the curtains. He quickly headed towards the blurry brightness of the open door. When he reached the doorframe he paused for a few seconds to listen for any tell-tale sounds of someone approaching. When he was satisfied that no one was coming, he slipped out and turned back in the direction that he came from only a short while before, searching for another route of escape. Unable to force his eyes to focus any clearer, he was forced to use his left hand to feel his way along, stopping every few minutes to listen for any sounds of his pursuers.   
  
XXXXX

“He can’t have gotten far!” Donahue growled as he stepped through the main entrance doors of the warehouse that had been converted into a CIA safe house/office building a few months ago. “He has to be hiding here somewhere!”

“Maybe he is hiding somewhere in the surrounding rainforest…or underneath one of the cars…” The young doctor sighed as he followed the agent outside and watched Donahue scan the parking lot and the surrounding rainforest which kept the safe house hidden away from curious eyes. He turned to look at the senior agent who had followed them out of the building and asked. “Do you need me to search? I really need to get back to Honolulu this afternoon and restock our supplies.”

Running his hand through his thinning gray hair, Anderson sighed as he glanced around the almost empty parking lot before he shook his head. “No. Go restock your supplies but before you leave just how far do you think Williams can go in the condition he is in?”

Biting his bottom lip, the physician stared thoughtfully across the fields before answering with a shrug. “To be honest Sir, I’m amazed he even managed to get out of bed, let alone escaped. If he is still on his feet then I doubt he will remain so for long… If the drugs react how they did in the mouse and monkey trials then I doubt he will survive for more than an hour or so before his body completely shuts down. I am not even sure how he survived the initial overdose.”

“So by chance if he has gotten away - he would not make it back to Honolulu?” Anderson asked as he stared at the doctor with intense scrutiny.

“Chances are Sir that you are looking for a body in the surrounding rainforest. If by some miracle he does make it back to Honolulu or even to the coast, he wouldn’t be in any condition to tell anyone what has happened.” The doctor answered softly, looking guiltily down at his hands, “None of the mice or any of the monkeys we tested survived more than twenty four hours. Can I go now?”

The lead agent sighed again and nodded as he looked back across the fields, “Yeah, you can go but on your way out tell security that I want them out here.”

“Will do!” The doctor answered as he turned and hurried back inside the building.

Hearing the glass doors glide securely closed behind him, the doctor glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the two men standing in the parking lot were not watching him before he hurried down the corridor towards the small office that Donahue had searched just minutes before. He paused outside the closed door and covertly checked that the corridor was empty before he opened it and quickly stepped inside. Closing the door firmly behind him, he whispered soft reassurances that nobody was with him and that he was alone before hurrying across to the curtain to pull it away from the window. He could only stare in surprise at the empty space where the figure had stood only a short time before.

Turning around slowly, he frowned after a quick scan of the room yielded no further clues as to where his patient had gone. He stilled as he realized that Williams had probably left while they had gone down the corridor towards the main entrance. Swearing softly under his breath, he hurried to the door and wretched it open to step back out into the corridor before hastily heading towards the room he had been using as a makeshift Intensive Care unit at the back entrance to the building.

Hearing the footsteps from somewhere behind him get louder with each passing second, Danny fumbled with the door handle and almost cried out loud with relief as his efforts were rewarded when the heavy door began to open.  The movement of the door caused him to stumble forward towards freedom, but his escape was thwarted as a hand grabbed his shoulder roughly and tugged him back inside.

“No!” the young detective protested as he turned and tried to hit his captor weakly with his left hand but the blow was easily knocked aside. His arms were pinned to his side as a strong hand clamped over his mouth, muffling any further protest. A fresh wave of dizziness washed over him as the world began to spin.

“Easy, easy!” A soft familiar voice whispered into his ear as Danny continued to struggle. “Don’t make a sound because they are looking for you. Just trust me and do as I say. I promise I will get you out of here.” The doctor finally removed his hand from the detective’s mouth when satisfied that Williams wasn’t going to try anything.

“Who…who are you?” Danny whispered as his left arm was lifted and placed around his rescuer’s shoulders before they turned back towards the door. He blinked hard as the door was opened and harsh sunlight hurt his eyes.

“Come on,” his rescuer urged, as a hand slipped around his waist and helped him outside. “I’ll hide you in the back of my car and cover you with a blanket. You should be safe there for a few minutes.”

“Who…who are you?” Danny asked again as he heard the sound of a car door opening and he was manoeuvred inside.

“Someone who made a mistake and now is trying to fix it.” The doctor whispered softly as he gently guided Danny onto the back seat. Reaching down, he grabbed the spare blanket that he always carried in the car and covered the young detective as he gently ordered. “Stay here and don’t make a sound. You will be safe until I get back in a couple of minutes. I have to grab some stuff we are going to need and inform security that they are needed in your search before we leave so no one gets suspicious.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

_"Chin, it's…Danny, I'm…I'm in...trouble..."_

_"Danny! Are you alright? Where are you?"_

_"I…I don't know…I think I'm in some kind of an office…"_

_"Easy Danny, easy. I have a trace on the line, we are going to find you but I need you to look around and see there's anything that can tell us where you are."_

McGarrett stood rigidly still as he listened to the phone call that he had hurried back to the Palace to hear and his partner’s desperate words. He had never heard the ex –Jersey cop sound so frightened or confused as Danny’s panicked whispers continued.

_"I…I can't…no…no time…. They're…. they're looking for me. I've got to try and get out of here."_

_"Who's looking for you?"_

_"They're coming, I… I can hear them. I... I have to go."_

_"Who's coming?"_

The loud click of the call disconnecting reverberated around the silent room before McGarrett turned towards Chin and demanded, “What about the trace?”

“The call was traced to the Ewa Forest area, Steve.” Chin answered as he pulled the incomplete trace up onto the screen with a map detailing the area up on the screen beside it. “The call was from a fixed land line but was too short to run a full trace.”

The Navy SEAL stared at the map, even though he knew the area well after hiking through it numerous times. The forest area was rugged and dense with several hiking trails traversing through.  The reserve was federal parkland and but for a few small isolated shacks that were hidden amongst the trees there were no other buildings in the area. “Are you sure the trace was from the Ewa Forest area?” he asked again, “And not from somewhere in Wahaiwa?”

Glancing back up at the screen and the results of the failed trace, the Korean detective confirmed. “I was able to trace the call to the reserve, Steve.”

 McGarrett frowned as he stared at the information before he continued, “Okay, the trace comes from the general area of the Ewa Forest Reserve. What else do we have?”

“He thinks he could be in an office.” Chin frowned, “His voice sounds slurred and slow - like he’s been drugged… and he says ‘They’ are looking for him.”

 “That implies that we are dealing with more than one kidnapper. We already knew that.  We know there were two fake ambulance attendants that responded to the courthouse.”  Steve reminded Chin.  
  
“One of them or a third suspect has to have a medical background.” Chin added, “Possibly a doctor - they would need it to administer the drugs that Charlie found in the ambulance.”   
  
“So one of our suspects is possibly a doctor.” Steve murmured as he continued to study at the map.  
  
“Also, just before Danny disconnects the call, I can hear what sounds like voices in the background.” Chin observed.  
  
“Voices?” Steve frowned as Chin’s fingers began to move across the keyboard. “Are you sure?”   
  
The detective nodded with certainty as Danny’s frightened voice again filled the room. Hitting a few more keys, the sound of soft indistinguishable voices were barely audible beneath Danny’s frightened whisper. Steve listened closely again before he glanced up at Chin and smiled, “You’re right.,Is there any way we can enhance the voices, maybe hear what they are saying?’   
  
 Chin nodded, “I can try and isolate each voice and enhance it but it’s going to take a little time. “  
  
“Do it!” 

The Korean’s fingers danced across the keyboard, first removing Danny’s frightened whispers before amplifying the sound of approaching footsteps and the soft muffled murmurs that could be heard in the background. Chin growled in frustration as he tried to enhance voices but no matter what he tried the words remained muffled and indistinguishable. With a sigh, he looked across at the Navy SEAL. “I’m sorry Steve, but that’s the clearest I can get the voices.”

“Play the voices again, Chin.”  Steve requested as he placed his hands on the table and leaned closer to the speakers, listening intently to the voices.

Uncertain of what McGarrett had heard from the muffled words, Chin also listened closely but was unable to make out any of the soft murmurs.

When the recording stopped, Steve straightened back up and looked across at Chin. “I can’t hear what they are saying but one of those voices sounds extremely familiar.”

“Any idea of who it could be?” Chin asked.

McGarrett shook his head, “Not yet, but let me listen to it again.”

XXXXX

Glancing into the rear vision mirror, the doctor glanced at the blanket draped figure lying on the back seat.  Williams appeared to be conscious but the detective had not spoken or moved since they had left the safe house.  The damp, pale face, the glassy blue eyes and the labored breathing worried the CIA doctor. He feared that the drugs he had used to reverse the effects of the overdose were beginning to wear off. He studied the detective for a moment or two longer, his chest tightening with fear as he noticed the telltale slight bluish tinge of the other man’s lips and the distinct soft wheeze. He knew that he needed to get Williams to somewhere safe and fast where he could continue with the medical care the detective desperately needed.

Uncertain just where would be safe enough to take the detective, the doctor returned his attention back to the slippery, narrow muddy road that wound through the rainforest, as he said grimly, “It’s not going to take them long to realize that I have helped you to escape, especially when they discover some of the drugs are missing. I can’t take you back to my place or yours because that’s the first places they will check. We need to find somewhere safe… somewhere where they would least expect us to go…”

“Mc…McGarrett.”

The softly gasped name made the doctor jump and he glanced back into the rear vision mirror, surprised that Williams was alert enough to be able to make the suggestion.

“McGarrett will be the first person they will expect you to turn to.” He told the detective, “Donahue and Anderson will be watching his every move. They will be watching anyone whom they think you or I will go to for help, especially the Five-0 team.”

Danny nodded and closed his eyes; it was hard to think through the pain and the cottony fuzziness that seemed to have invaded his thoughts. Of course Steve would be the first person they knew he would turn to. He opened his eyes as the one name person he knew they would never think of watching suddenly popped into his mind, “What…what about Bergman… Max… Bergman…”

 “Bergman?” He frowned, uncertain if he had misunderstood the name. “Max Bergman?  The medical examiner?”

Danny swallowed hard and blinked, exhausted by the mere act of breathing before he whispered breathlessly. “He’s…he’s a friend. They… they won’t look… look for…us … there…” 

A small smile tugged at the doctor’s lips as he pondered the suggestion to hide out at the island’s Chief Medical Examiner place for a moment.  As crazy as the suggestion sounded, it might be the safest place in the current circumstances. He made the decision as he reached the paved road that lead out of the forest reserve that would take them to the freeway and Honolulu, nodding to himself, ‘Yeah. The Medical Examiner might be the safest person to go to. Who in their right mind would ever think they would go to him for help?’ Casting another quick glance in the mirror to the seriously ill man on the back seat, he laughed. “Hiding out with the Chief Medical Examiner sounds perfect, I doubt even Donahue would ever think of looking for us there.”

XXXXX


	9. Chapter 9

_"Chin, it's…Danny, I'm…I'm in...trouble..."_

_"Danny! Are you alright? Where are you?"_

_"I…I don't know…I think I'm in some kind of an office…"_

_"Easy Danny, easy. I have a trace on the line, we are going to find you but I need you to look around and see there's anything that can tell us where you are."_

_"I…I can't…no…no time…. They're…. they're looking for me. I've got to try and get out of here."_

_"Who's looking for you?"_

_"They're coming, I… I can hear them. I... I have to go."_

_"Who's coming?"_

Listening closely to the recorded phone call, Steve McGarrett rubbed a hand over his face as he asked Chin to play it again. Closing his eyes as Chin's fingers flew over the keyboard and the recording played over again, he concentrated on the familiar muffled voice that could be heard in the background, although he could not hear what the voice was saying, he realized just whose voice muffled voice he was listening to. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed as his eyes snapped open, startling the two cousins.

"Steve?" Chin asked, staring at the Navy SEAL.

"It's Anderson!" Steve growled.

"Are you certain?" Kono frowned as she glanced across at her cousin before looking back at her boss.

"It's Anderson." McGarrett repeated confidently.

"But why would the CIA be involved in Danny's disappearance?" Kono asked as she looked at Steve and Chin in confusion.

"Howard must have been involved in the CIA somehow." Chin mused.

"And they needed to know just what Danny saw." Steve added.

"But why the ruse in the courtroom? Why not just grab Danny off of the street? And why offer to help with the investigation?" Kono asked

"If we thought Danny was dead, we would be looking for a body." Chin explained to his cousin. "And Anderson wants to keep tabs on our investigation, and he wants to make us," Glancing at Steve, he continued, "you, to believe that Danny is really dead."

"And once they got whatever they wanted from Danny, it's easier to dump his body if everyone already thinks he is dead." Steve injected. "But Danny managed to get away and contact us."

"Then where is he?" Chin frowned.

Steve sighed and shook his head, "I don't know Chin, but until we do, we are going to pretend we don't know that Anderson and the CIA are involved in his disappearance, nor that Danny has escaped."

)0)0)0)0)0)

Parking his car around the back of the Medical Examiner's building, the young doctor glanced around nervously to ensure no one was around before he turned and looked at the detective on the back seat. Williams appeared to have lost consciousness again. Grabbing the edge of the blanket, he murmured softly, "I hope you are right about Doctor Bergman because if you're not…" he sighed, pushing the terrifying thought away as he grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over the detective, covering him completely from any inquisitive eyes. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he quickly alighted from the car and headed inside the building.

Moving quickly through the building, he quickly located the office he was searching for. Looking through the small glass panel in the door, he quickly glanced inside to reassure himself the Medical Examiner was alone before he entered the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

Looking up from the folder he was reading, Max frowned at the stranger who had entered his office before he said, "Hello. Do I know you?"

The young doctor shook his head, "Not officially, I'm afraid, although I have heard a lot about you, Doctor Bergman." He began before rushing on, "My name is Doctor Collins, Michael Collins, but that's not important at the moment. What is important, is we have a mutual friend who desperately needs your help."

"A mutual friend?" Max's frown deepened with confusion as he stared at the stranger.

"Detective Williams." The doctor answered softly as he moved towards the smaller man.

"Detective Williams? He's alive?" Max asked as he looked excitedly past the doctor towards the door. "Where is he?"

"He's here, outside in my car." The doctor answered quietly, "But he's sick, and he…we need your help."

"My help?" Max looked back at Collins, "I don't understand. If Detective Williams is ill then why haven't you taken him to the hospital? Or why hasn't Detective Williams contacted Commander McGarrett? The Commander has been searching for him."

"We can't. They will be watching him. They will be watching all the members of the Five 0 team. " The doctor rushed to explain as he glanced nervously towards the door, "If they find Detective Williams, they  _will_  kill him, they will also kill anyone helping him or who knows he is even alive."

"Who will kill him?' Max asked.

Lowering his voice, he turned back to Max, "Please, there is no time at the moment for any questions, we need you help and somewhere to hide we don't have much time before they realize that I have helped him to escape and they start looking for me as well. Detective Williams told me that we can trust you."

"You can trust me." Max nodded as he hurried to reassure the anxious doctor, "What do you want me to do?"

"We need somewhere to hide, somewhere where no one, and that includes McGarrett or any of the other members of the five0 team, will know. But first we need another car to take us there, they know my car and if they suspect that I have had anything to do with Williams's disappearance they will be looking for it."

"I think I know just the place to take you." Max announced proudly as he grabbed a pair of sunglasses from his desk and a trench coat that was hanging on a coat rack just behind his seat dramatically slipped them on before he headed towards the door.

The Medical Examiner suddenly reminded the young doctor of a cartoon character his daughter loved to watch… Inspector Gadget- that was the character's name. Collins's heart sunk and he found himself praying that Williams was right about being able to trust this man. If Bergman's strange behavior gave them away, they were dead.

Max paused as he reached the door and slowly opened it and poked his head out into the corridor and looked around. Turning back to the doctor he nodded as he whispered theatrically, "All clear." before he turned towards the doctor and told him mysteriously, "I have a plan of how to take Detective Williams and you to my 'safe' house. Please drive your car around to the garage, I will meet you there." Without waiting for the doctor's reply, Max turned and headed towards the building garage.


	10. Chapter 10

Reaching his car, Collins quickly looked around, ensuring that no one was watching him before he opened the door and slid inside. Starting the engine, he glanced into the rear vision mirror at the motionless man still covered with a blanket on the back seat as he swallowed hard, uncertain if he was doing the right thing by placing their safety into the hands of the slightly strange Medical Examiner he had just met. “I hope you are right about Bergman, because if you’re not, then we are both dead men.” He whispered as he drove around to the building’s garage.

The garage door slowly opened and Max stepped out, enthusiastically waving him inside before closing the door after he entered and breathlessly directing him to park beside a white M.E. van which had the rear doors open. As he glided the car to a complete stop, he was surprised when the Medical Examiner hurried across to open doors of the van and pulled out the gurney, complete with a black plastic body bag resting on top before turning and grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“What?” the young doctor stammered as he opened the car door and climbed out of his car, staring in confusion, first at the gurney and then at the grinning man who was watching his reaction.

“Our getaway vehicle! Max announced proudly as he reached into the van and pulling out a white coat, handing it to the stunned doctor “And this is your getaway costume and that is how we will smuggle Detective Williams away from here.” He grinned as he waved dramatically towards the body bag on the gurney.

Shocked at the M.E.’s outrageous plan but not able to come up with a better one on the spur of the moment, Collins nodded in disbelief as he quickly shrugged on the white medical examiner’s coat and opened the back door of his car as Max pushed the gurney closer and opened the body bag. “Okay,” he agreed uncertainly as he reached into the back of the car and carefully began to pull Danny out. Moving quickly to help. Max grabbed Danny’s legs as he was pulled from the car and helped Collins lift the unconscious man into the open body bag on the gurney. 

The young doctor quickly checked the detective’s vitals, before he turned back to the car and removed the bag of drugs he had brought with them from the CIA safe house. Hurriedly unzipping the bag, he quickly removed a small drug vial and a syringe before drawing up a small amount of the clear drug and carefully injecting Danny with it. Dropping the used needle and vial back into the bag, he turned and pressed his fingers into the side of Danny’s neck, carefully checking Danny’s pulse for several seconds, before releasing the breath he did not realize he was holding and looking back at Max, asked. “Do you have oxygen?”

Max nodded and climbed into the back of the van and retrieved the small cylinder of oxygen attached to an oxygen mask, he had ready to use, passing them to Collins as he explained, “I prepared it to ensure that Detective Williams would have oxygen to breathe while he is in the body bag.”

Max’s explanation did not surprise the CIA doctor as he quickly slipped the mask over Danny’s face and adjusted the flow as Max climbed out of the van and joined him.

“Ready to get out of here?” Max asked.

“Ready.” Collins answered as he watched still in disbelief as Max quickly and expertly adjusted the body bag around Danny’s still form, ensuring the oxygen mask was firmly in place before zipping the bag closed and strapped the body bag, with the Five 0 detective inside, securely to the gurney.

“What about my car?” The young CIA doctor asked as he helped slide the gurney into the back of the van.

“It will be safe here.” Max reassured him as he closed the back doors and hurried around to the driver’s door.

“Where are we going?” Collins asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.

“My roommate owns a small shack on the Pali.” Max answered as the garage door opened and he pulled his hat lower before began to reverse outside as he lowered his voice and added conspiratorially. “And he is currently visiting his parents on the mainland.”


	11. Chapter 11

Placing the needle, he had just used to inject Danny with another dose of the antidote, onto the bedside table, Collins ran his hand nervously over his hair as he watched Danny struggle to breathe. The oxygen mask was doing little to assist the Five 0 detective's breathing; all he could do now was to try and treat the detective's symptoms until the drug worked its way out of his system. He bit his bottom lip, he hoped that what little he could do would be enough.

He sighed and turned towards the window, staring out at the thick rainforest, the surrounded the small shack, hiding it from curious eyes. Bergman had left almost an hour before, promising to return with more oxygen, drugs and much desperately needed supplies. He swallowed hard, unable to ignore that fact that he was terrified. If Anderson or Donahue discovered where they were, he had no doubt that they would disappear, never to be seen again. Turning back around, he stared at the unconscious man on the bed. Oh God, he hoped Williams was right about Bergman.

H50 H50 H50

Climbing the ornate wooden staircase that led to the Five 0 offices above, Matt Anderson sighed. What a mess! He felt like Daniel when he walked into the lion's den. If Williams had managed to make contact with McGarrett after his escape, there would be hell to pay. The experiments would be exposed and the harm and embarrassment that dirty secret could cause to not only to his own career and the careers of his superiors, but all the way up the chain to the President… He shook his head, pushing the unwelcome thoughts away, reassuring himself that the neurotoxins, Donohue had used on Williams had already proved be too unstable. The animals that the drugs had been tested on had died within a short time of being injected and the ones that survived the initial injection were later destroyed because of the irreversible brain damage the drugs caused. Williams had been given an overdose, it had been a miracle that the Five 0 detective had survived. Hopefully, his body was now lying somewhere in the thick undergrowth of the rainforest surrounding the safe house, where it would remain undiscovered for eternity. Hopefully McGarrett would come to accept the futility of his search for his missing partner and move on. Only then could Howard be quietly relocated to the mainland, out of McGarrett's reach, where he could be 'persuaded' to continue with his experiments. And only then could Donohue be dealt with and if he had any influence with his superiors at all, Anderson really hoped that he would be the one to deal with the junior agent. The man had caused him nothing but grief.

He paused as he reached the glass doors of the Five 0 taskforce office and peered inside. McGarrett and the other two members of McGarrett's team were huddled around the computer table, talking softly between themselves. Preparing his best poker face, he whispered a silent prayer that Williams was indeed lying dead somewhere in the rainforest before he pushed the door open and entered the lion's den. "Steve."

Steve turned as Matt entered the anteroom, as Chin hastily tapped a couple of keys on the desk computer keyboard, closing the audio file of Danny's desperate phone call and removing all traces the computer's recent history. "Matt, have you got something for me?"

"I'm afraid not, Steve." The CIA agent said softly as he joined the two men at the desk, "I was hoping maybe you had something…"

Steve slowly shook his head before he turned to Chin and Kono and ordered, "I want the two of you check all Reddings' friends and associates, any place that Reddings would turn to looking for somewhere to hide."

"Will do Steve." Chin nodded as they turned and headed towards the door, understanding Steve's order fully.

Frowning as he watched Chin and Kono leave, Matt turned back to Steve, "Reddings?"

"A bank robbery case the Governor insisted we handle. Reddings is our main suspect." Steve quickly dismissed the question.

The CIA agent nodded as he glanced around the anteroom before he looked back at McGarrett, "I've double checked with some of my team in Washington. The experiments with neurotoxins that we carried out on animals a year ago were shelved and put to bed because they were deemed as too dangerous. I have been assured that all the drugs were accounted for before being destroyed, there is no way that any of those drugs still survive today. I also have assigned several of my best agents to search Oahu for Williams' body or some clue as to what happened to him but so far no success."

Resisting the urge to pull out his gun and shoot the lying son of a bitch or to force Anderson to tell him precisely what he and his agents had done to Danny and why, Steve forced himself to relax and nod, "Thanks."

"I was hoping that you may have had more success than I have…" Matt continued but was interrupted when Steve's cell phone began to ring.

Pulling the phone from his pocket, Steve frowned as he glanced at the caller I.D. "Excuse me a moment." he told Matt before he hit the accept button and turned away, "Max?"

"Commander McGarrett, I need you in autopsy?"

Steve's frowned deepened in confusion, "Autopsy? Why?"

"I have some important information regarding the whereabouts of Detective Williams."

Quickly glancing over his shoulder at the CIA senior agent to reassure himself that Anderson was not eavesdropping, Steve returned his attention back to the phone call as said he replied, "I'm on my way."

Turning around as Steve hit the disconnect button, Matt asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, that was Bergman. He wants me to go join him in Autopsy, he's carrying out an autopsy on one of our robbery victims and has found something that he thinks will interest me. Want to come?"

The CIA agent quickly shook his head, the thought of staring at someone's organs as McGarrett and Bergman discussed a case across the body was something that did not appeal to him. "No, you go." he answered, before glancing down at his watch, "I have to get going anyway, I have a meeting to attend. I just thought I would check in to see if you had any new leads on Williams."

Steve nodded as he turned and hurried out of the office with Matt slowly following him.

Reaching the glass doors, Matt followed Steve out of the office and paused as he watched McGarrett hurry across to the stairs before descending them. He waited until Steve was out of sight, before he turned and re-entered the office, and walked across to the desk computer. His fingers began to dance lightly over the keyboard as he tried to pull up the computer's history, in an attempt to discover just what files Kelly had closed down so quickly when he had entered the office.


	12. Chapter 12

Stepping into the autopsy room, Steve called, "Max?" as he looked around for the medical examiner. His behest was answered quickly as Max stepped out of the supply room, his arms full of gloves, masks and other assorted medical equipment, including a blood pressure monitor and a stethoscope.

"Max?" Steve frowned as he stared at the smaller man who was dressed in a trench coat with the collar turned up, despite being in a comfortably cooled air-conditioned building, and wearing a pair of dark mirrored sunglasses.

Dropping the items onto the bench next to an old battered medical bag, Max looked up at his visitor, "Commander McGarrett, you're here." he said softly as he quickly walked around the bench towards the autopsy room doors.

"Max you said had information about where …"

Holding up his hand in a silent order to be silent, Max reached the autopsy door as it slid open and quickly poked his head out into the corridor and looked around. Satisfied that Steve had not been followed he straightened up and waited until the door slid closed before hitting the automatic lock. He turned and hurried back to where Steve was standing, watching him.

"Max?" Steve asked again, his frown deepening with Max's strange behavior.

"I had to make sure that you were not followed." Max said softly as he glanced towards the glass door again, reassuring himself that they were still alone before he looked back at Steve and whispered conspiratorially, "I have important information about Detective Williams's whereabouts. Information, that if anyone else were to find out could place him in great danger."

Steve's eyes opened wide as he stared at the smaller man, "Where? Is he alright? How did you find him?"

"I am currently hiding him at a 'safe' house that only I and the CIA doctor who is with him knows about." Max whispered as he turned and hurried back to the medical gear he had placed on the bench and quickly began to pack the medical equipment into the bag.

"The CIA doctor?"

Max nodded as he turned and hurried back into the supply room before emerging with several syringes and a couple of boxes of different gauges of needles and backed them in the bag, "He assisted Detective Williams's in his escape."

"He assisted Danny to escape to your 'safe' house?" Steve frowned, trying to follow Max's story.

"No, he brought Detective Williams here, looking for somewhere safe for them to hide." Max explained as he closed the bag, "He says if the other CIA agents find them, they will both be executed."

"So you took them to your safe house."

Max nodded as he grabbed the medical bag from the bench. "That is correct. The doctor was afraid that if he contacted you, that the CIA would have someone watching you."

"He is probably right." Steve breathed before he turned back and asked, "Max..."

"Can I take you to the 'safe' house the same way I took the doctor and Detective Williams?" Max finished Steve's question as he headed towards the door. "Of course, Commander McGarrett, now if you will just follow me."

Hitting the button to unlock the door, Max waited a moment for it to slide open as he raised his hand in the air in a silent signal for Steve to wait. He poked his head out into the corridor and looked around. Satisfied the corridor was still empty, he straightened up and pulled his trench coat tighter and re-positioned his sunglasses higher up on his nose before he turned and silently motioned for Steve to follow him down to where the coroner van was parked in the garage.

H50 H50 H50

Casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the glass entrance doors to the Five 0 office to reassure himself that he was still alone, Anderson return his attention back to the computer table and tapped the un-named audio file he had discovered in the history folder. He froze as the phone recording began to reverberate around the empty office. "Chin, it's…Danny, I'm…I'm in...trouble..."

"Danny! Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I…I don't know…I think I'm in some kind of an office…"

"Easy Danny, easy. I have a trace on the line, we are going to find you but I need you to look around and see there's anything that can tell us where you are."

"I…I can't…no…no time…. They're…. they're looking for me. I've got to try and get out of here."

"Who's looking for you?"

"They're coming, I… I can hear them. I... I have to go."

"Who's coming?"

"Shit! Shit!" he swore as he quickly stabbed the stop key on the computer table console. Staring at the table, so Williams had managed to contact McGarrett. "Shit!" he growled again as he slammed his fist onto the table. He froze as he remembered the phone call Steve had just received. Turning, he hurried out of the Five 0 office as he pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing at the keypad before he hit number two on the speed dial as he jogged down the internal stairs and headed out the palace. He waited a heartbeat before his call was answered before he ordered gruffly, "I want to know McGarrett's and the rest of his team's current locations, now!"


End file.
